CHART: Australians Pay Less Tax On Petrol Compared To A Bunch Of Other Big Economies

The coalition’s first budget will be released tomorrow. The papers have already gone to the printers and Joe Hockey said today his speech has been finalised.

However much of what’s in, and out of this year’s budget has been leaked. There’s more on what we know here.

One thing to expect is the introduction of a fuel excise indexed with inflation. According to leaks it is going to cost you more to fill up your petrol tank at the bowser.

The fuel excise has been 38.1 cents a litre since former PM John Howard axed indexation in 2001.

Increasing it twice a year would reportedly raise $340 million in the first 12 months and $1.5 billion per annum by 2018.

But according to UHY Haines Norton Australia’s 20 country fuel tax comparison study Australia has some of the lowest petrol taxes in the world.

The chartered accountancy firm compared the cost of filling up the 80 litre tank of a Ford Transit van with petrol in 20 different economies.

“Whilst we may think our fuel prices are high, they’re not in comparison to the rest of the world and this fact actually may have contributed to helping Australia control cost structures during the GFC,” UHY chairman David Tomasi said.

“It is important to note however that while our fuel taxes are comparatively low internationally, on a cost per litre basis, the vast distances within Australia and the dependence on motor vehicles by the population does equate to a higher total amount paid on fuel as a percentage of disposable income compared to many other countries.”

This chart shows that filling up the 80 litre tank in Australia with petrol will cost you about $US111 ($AU118), well below the other European nations included in the study, namely Denmark, the UK, Ireland, France and Germany.

If you look at how much of that cost is tax Australia is also relatively low by comparison.